Getting it fresh
It might have been a cold summer morning Saturday, but Cache Valley residents still came with their homegrown produce, handmade crafts and money to buy at the Cache Valley Gardeners Market.
The outdoor market, which is located at 150 S. and 100 East behind the old Tony Roma’s, also brings in live music.
And to those Utah State University students who thought they missed their chance, the Gardeners Market will continue every Saturday until Oct. 16.
“It’s a happening place,” said Skip Astrove, the music director for the market. “It’s the best thing going Cache Valley has to offer.”
Astrove organizes what bands and musicians play from week to week. Jazz-folk music was being played Saturday and previous performances have included a percussion ensemble and bluegrass music earlier this summer. For this coming Saturday, he said there will be live classical music.
“We bring in everything,” Astrove said.
Miriam Felton is a senior majoring in human resource management and throughout the season she has sold her crafts at the market. In a small booth she sells her hand-knit socks, hats, bags, handmade journals, photos and miniature origami books.
“I love the community spirit,” Felton said. “Even if I wasn’t selling anything I would be here every week.”
She particularly enjoys the trading of items between sellers at the market. She traded a pair of her hand-knitted socks for a ceramic cookie jar with another seller.
“It’s wonderful to trade things,” Felton said.
Cache Valley residents Devin Twedt and Jessica Bergen run their own gardening business in Mendon and sell organic produce at the Gardeners Market.
Twedt said their specialty is variety. On Saturday, they were selling 17 varieties of potatoes, numerous types of tomatoes, peppers and more.
“The bottom line is people get better food here,” he said “It’s not shipped from across the country; it’s fresh; it doesn’t have chemicals on it. It’s much fresher food that they end up with.”
Twedt is happy with the buyers that come to the market. “There’s a lot of loyal people that come every week.”
The Cache Valley Gardeners Market has been a 20 year tradition and it has been growing each passing year.
The market surpassed its record number of vendors by 50 percent this year, said Tom Proffitt, the event’s management coordinator. This summer’s market has had more than 50 vendors at one time, but Proffitt said that hasn’t always been the case.
“It started out primarily as just an opportunity for gardeners to sell their extra produce and get some seed money,” he said.
Now, Proffitt said, the market has gone from a few local gardeners selling their extra zucchini to not just a local market anymore -but a community event. It kept the name “Gardeners Market” to remain unique among other farmers markets, he said.
However, the market still keeps it’s stipulation of everything sold must be homegrown or handmade.
“Homegrown to the bone,” Proffitt said, who, on top of coordinating the market, sells beats, carrots and eggplant.
Nicole Mauerman, a graduate student in sociology, sells goat dairy products including milk, cheese and yogurt for her roommate’s company, Drake Family Farms.
“It’s the place to be seen,” Mauerman said. “People just come here to hang out.”
Recent USU graduate Morgan Decker said he comes to the market because he prefers buying his produce at the Gardeners Market over grocery stores.
“I like to buy my fruits and vegetables here as opposed to Smith’s because I’m supporting local farmers,” Decker said.
-joelfeathers@cc.usu.edu